


Moving On

by stephswims



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:02:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23178910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephswims/pseuds/stephswims
Summary: Season 2 Cannon Divergence: Felicity has had enough.
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Comments: 18
Kudos: 130
Collections: Olicity Clue





	Moving On

**Author's Note:**

> This is my prompt for Olicity Clue (I'm sooo sorry it's late!). This was so much harder than I anticipated, but it was so much fun!

Felicity sighed as she sunk back into her chair and placed her coffee mug next to her laptop. She didn’t regret any of her decisions, but she did feel like she was running in circles. After the Hacktavism with Cooper, Felicity decided that she was going to do things the legal way. The plan was to get a job in IT and work her way up the ranks, which she knew she could easily do. She figured she would find a purpose, _her_ purpose somewhere along the way. She was right. Sort of.

She did get a job in IT, and she worked hard at it. Then, Oliver waltzed into her cube with that damn smile. Walter trusted her with the secrets his wife was keeping, that on the surface seemed to be embezzled money and turned into something so much darker. And Oliver turned out to be, well, the freaking Arrow. So, here she was, first day at Kord Industries. She was still in the IT department, but she was hired as a more senior member of the team. At least there was that. She could code circles around her “supervisor” and would work her way up the career ladder just like everyone else. As long as a handsome, broody vigilante didn’t show up, she was well on her way to forgetting about Oliver Queen. 

She reminisced as she scrolled through the training materials. There were three moments that led her to quit QC as Oliver’s executive assistant and to leave the team. The first was something she did not want to think about, but she couldn’t stop herself. It was her drug, her cocaine. It was the moment Isabel Rochev came prancing out of Oliver’s hotel room in Russia. All legs and short dress. Her lipstick had worn off, and there was a slight smudge of mascara that she somehow managed to look sexy anyway. Felicity would probably never forget the smirk on Isabel’s face. It was the closest thing to a smile the Ice Queen had ever twitched. Felicity wouldn’t forget the fallen look on Oliver’s face, quickly recovered with a forced smile. He had opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to it. Her cheeks still warmed every time she thought of her very silly comment of “What happens in Russia stays in Russia,” except it hadn’t. Maybe, it would have if Oliver had amused her and talked about it while they were still _in_ Russia, but he, of course, waited until they were back at QC to feed her the bullshit about not being able to be with someone he could really care about. 

The second moment was her talk with John in the Arrow Cave. John was the most reasonable one out of the three of them. He had always talked sense into Felicity and rationalized with her, especially when it came to her feelings about Oliver. He was empathetic and sweet, and she was going to miss all of their conversations, even the really difficult ones. But one night, when Oliver was on his way back to the Foundry after an easy catch, John admitted that Oliver confided his feelings to him about her. It validated her own feelings but made her feel so, so much more worse. She didn’t know if she could keep her own feelings in check, if she could continue working with Oliver when her body instinctively reached out for him. It wasn’t healthy for her if she stayed, but she wanted to help John, to help Oliver’s cause, to help Oliver. She would sacrifice her own feelings for that. But John so wisely pointed out, that she was also sacrificing Oliver’s feelings, that neither one of them would be able to truly move on if they continued working together as closely as they were every single day. She thought about that conversation for weeks, and she came to the same conclusions. She also knew that their feelings could be distracting and might cause Oliver to get hurt. She absolutely couldn’t have that. She would never forgive herself.

The third moment was when she met Ted Kord. It was an off-chance meeting. He spilled her coffee all over her in a local bookshop and bought her a new cup. They ended up chatting, and Felicity shared way too much information about her personal life, mostly her education and current position. He gave her his card to write her phone number on and promised to get back to her if they had a job opening. When he called back a mere hour later, Felicity embarrassingly misread his interest. He _actually_ had a job for her, and even though she would still have to interview with the hiring manager, it was hers if she wanted it. 

She took it.

And here she was.

She signed off on the training document and took a sip of coffee before opening the next one. The coffee wasn’t as good here. The training material was just as long and tedious, but hopefully the work would be interesting. Maybe not as interesting as working with the Arrow, but definitely more interesting than being an Executive Assistant. 

“Felicity Smoak,” a familiar voice called from the opening in her cubicle, and she jumped a little. She wasn’t expecting anyone to interrupt her, and she definitely wasn’t expecting him.

“Oliver, what are you doing here?” Her voice was tense, making his smile falter, and she could see his jaw clench.

“Bringing you this.” He lifted the potted fern in his hands before placing it on her desk. At first, she thought she was returning the one she bought for the Foundry, but the pot was different. 

“I know it’s not fair for me to ask you to come back even though I want you to, but I wanted to give you a ‘Good Luck on Your First Day of Work’ gift.” He shifted nervously, and she looked back to the fern to avoid the way the muscles played under his suit. 

“Someone once told me that ferns survive in low light,” he continued. She made the mistake of looking into his eyes, eyes that were intently staring at her. “You bring out the light in me, Felicity. I’m a better person because of you. I just…wanted you to know that.” The way he said it so matter-of-factly made her eyes prickle with the threat of tears, but she didn’t want to unpack that. Not now. Not on her first day at a new job. 

“Oliver, what are you doing here?” she asked again, her voice tighter. His smile completely fell then, and she felt a twinge of regret, but he maintained eye contact. His soft eyes searched hers, and he looked so hopeful.

“I was wrong,” he said slowly, “I’d…I know it’s too soon…I just…” She smiled at his obvious nervousness and leaned back into her chair. Nervous Oliver was always cute, and it was such a change from his usual self-assuredness. 

“Will you…will you go to dinner with me?” His voice was hopeful and nervous, his eyes pleading, almost like he was willing her to say ‘yes’.

But his question was the last thing she was expecting. As soon as he showed up, she thought he would ask her to continue their nightly activities. She thought he may try to get her to come back to QC, especially since their nightly activities often ran into the daytime. She wasn’t expecting him to ask her out on a date. She found the breath knocked out of her as her brain tried to figure out exactly what was happening.

“I want you to do what’s best for your career. I don’t want you to have any regrets, but I don’t want to regret letting you walk away,” he explained, keeping his voice smooth and even with the softness reserved just for her. 

She didn’t know what to say to his admission. On the one hand, she wanted to accept, wanted to be with him. She knew one date would lead to another and another. She knew they could be great together. But, on the other hand, she didn’t want to play his hot-and-cold game again and again. She didn’t want to always have to assure him that she made her own choices, and she chose to stay with him through thick or thin, Arrow or not.

“Felicity, please, just think about it,” he practically begged her. He waited for her confirmation before leaving with the saddest smile she’s ever seen. 

She _did_ think about it. A lot. She couldn’t not think about it, but Oliver hadn’t tried to contact her, not after an entire week. Thoughts about how things could be between them quickly turned to anger, and nothing spurred Felicity more than anger. 

Her anger carried her all the way to the Foundry, down the steps, and past John, straight to Oliver, sitting in _her_ chair, arms crossed over his chest looking grumpy. Handsome but grumpy.

“I have to go meet Lyla,” John said as he made for the steps. Her brain barely registered him as she stepped right into Oliver’s personal space.

“What was that?” she demanded angrily.

“What was what?” he asked meeting her challenge.

“You ask me out on a date and then don’t even call or text for a week!” She took a breath trying to calm herself and gauge his reaction at the same time.

“I didn’t want to pressure you,” he replied softly.

“Pressure me? When have you ever been able to pressure me?” Her voice was increasing in volume, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Never,” he said as his eyes bore into hers, “but I didn’t want you to feel like I was trying.” He continued his stare down even though she was towering over him in her heels. His face was challenging but his eyes pleading. She was calming down, her anger subsiding. He had that affect on her. Just by looking at her.

She knew she was being a little irrational. Afterall, she did say she would think about his proposition, and she hadn’t tried to contact him either. He could have assumed she rejected him. She took a deep steadying breath and brushed a lose piece of hair behind her ear nervously. 

“Ask me again,” she whispered, anticipation building in her belly.

“Felicity,” he said slowly as he stood upright and took one slow, tortuous step to her, invading her space completely, “will you go to dinner with me?” She couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face, and she noticed the slight twitch of his lips in response. She bit her lip as she stared into his eyes, his gorgeous eyes that felt like home no matter where they were. 

“Don’t leave me in suspense,” he pleaded as he took her hands in his own, warming them instantly. 

“I would love to go to dinner with you, Oliver,” she said still smiling as she leaned towards him. He kissed her gently with a squeeze to her hands, just a small brushing of soft lips that sent chills down her spine and goosebumps along her arms.

“Will you come back to the team? And QC too?” he asked when he pulled away slightly, his breath ghosting over her lips sending another shiver through her. He was cute when he was begging.

“Let’s just start with dinner,” she said with a soft smile as she tilted her and swayed towards him.

“Let’s go then,” he demanded as he pulled her towards the stairs. 


End file.
